KISD/CFISD Tournament Top Performers – Defensive Specialists
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The high school volleyball season started at full pace in the state of Texas and a massive number of matches were played in the opening week alone, several of them in varsity tournaments that took place all over the Lone…
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Continue ReadingThe high school volleyball season started at full pace in the state of Texas and a massive number of matches were played in the opening week alone, several of them in varsity tournaments that took place all over the Lone Star State.
One of them was the Katy ISD/Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Varsity Tournament, which reunited as many as 48 teams from the Houston area and beyond for three days of competition across eight high schools in the region between Thursday and Saturday.
I was at the Katy Taylor and the Cinco Ranch high schools on the opening day and watched the matches at Tompkins on Friday, being able to see in person 22 different teams across the two days. During the week, I’ve been sharing the positional top performers from the teams I was fortunate to watch, and in the final piece of the series, let’s honor the defensive specialists.
The 5’7″ Murillo strongly upgraded Klein Collins’ backcourt game when she was on the court. She did an excellent job digging everything that went her way on position 5 and impressed with her ability to control hard-driven hits. Murillo also did extremely well on the few occasions she was targeted by opposing serves, handling them with confidence and helping set her team’s offense up.
Nathalia Castillo
Nathalia Castillo
One of the few seniors in a young Jersey Village roster, Castillo had an important role in helping stabilize the team on the court with her experience. She also did that with her superior backcourt skills, which helped put the team’s dynamic hitters in a position to score over and over again. The 5’5″ defensive specialist was incredibly consistent during the tournament, leading the passing system and also generating some transition opportunities with her digs.
Renata Rebolledo
Renata Rebolledo
In a MacArthur team that had several players who impressed with their sizes and offensive tools, the diminutive Rebolledo stood out for her hard work on the backcourt. Very dynamic on defense, she was also extremely consistent and reliable with her actions, be it on serve-receive or when playing defense. She’s very fun to watch because of her hustle and her ability to make pancake digs. Rebolledo also showed great versatility to fill in as a setter in some rotations.
The 5’4″ Alvarado was called upon when her Tomball Memorial needed to get things under control on the defensive side of the game and every time she stepped on the court, she got the job done. With her great positioning and impressive quickness, no ball is out of reach for her. Alvarado also did a key job with her passing, much needed for a team that has a handful of tall players who thrive when hitting quick sets. She had 19 digs and 32 passes with limited playing time.
Highlights
Maggie Finnegan
Maggie Finnegan
Working with perfect passes is a must for a team like Cinco Ranch and Finnegan helped the Cougars achieve that during the tournament. The 5’5″ defensive specialist did a great job when paired with libero Kayla Atkinson and helped her team be as clean as it gets in their first contact. Very calm and focused, Finnegan is extremely technically-gifted and produced at a high level during the event, tallying 45 digs and 39 passes.